Military camo shade structure

trevkong · Post by **trevkong** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:47 am

Hey guys i wanted to get some feedback/ideas for this year on our shade structure. We are doing a small flying spaghetti monster themed bar and enclosure out of the military desert camo netting. This is our third year, and the first two we came in a small group of friends and basically just camped lazy style without much structure.

This year word has spread and we have had a ton of friends committing to come, and id love if someone who has built something similar could share a schematic or particulars on it. My idea so far is a circus tent shape with a central pole, small tents set up inside with a privacy wall seperating them from the bar/public friends area. I suppose i'd use a large central pole for this, we machined some invincible stakes last year that can hold down ANYTHING so that is not an issue, but the best use of space is. There will be a bar area, and probably a good 8 tents inside. Any feedback with links to diagrams, or at least specifics would be awsome, thanks!

cullen · Post by **cullen** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:54 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Camoflage-Netting ... ZViewItem

http://www.armysurpluswarehouse.com/pro ... 5-2882.cfm

you'll want these if your using military camo.

trevkong · Post by **trevkong** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:40 pm

Thanks, ya i have the materials covered, im an army navy surplus addict, however im a very poor engineer/architect, what im mostly looking for is a schematic, with the fiberglass supports or pvp would a rectangular structure make more sense?

cullen · Post by **cullen** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:56 pm

you wont find a plan for it we usually just wing it. you might try the pole configurtion for a circus tent or something similar.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 7:59 pm

cullen wrote:http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Camoflage-Netting ... ZViewItem

http://www.armysurpluswarehouse.com/pro ... 5-2882.cfm

you'll want these if your using military camo.

enable BBCode

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:06 am

If you make it out of camo, how will anyone find it?
How will you find it again?

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:03 pm

I heard a rumor at the 08 burn that the existing stock of camo netting with the army surplus stores wasn't going to be replenished, another fallout from 9/11. Anybody else hear anything like that?

cullen · Post by **cullen** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 5:59 pm

i was just gonna appropriate what i needed from my unit.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:11 pm

Lahontan Corps.. part of Gigsville in 2007 had a really nice setup with only one flaw that I know of. When the wind picked up folks had to hold the supports. This could be corrected by using something with a large footprint.

My solution would have the main support a 2x4 and a /\ shape at the bottom would be plywood "wings" with a flat piece of wood at the bottom for stability. You could add s smaller square at the top of the 2x4 too.

Picture a rocket with 4 fins with a big bottom square.

trevkong · Post by **trevkong** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:50 pm

[quote="gyre"]If you make it out of camo, how will anyone find it?
How will you find it again?[/quote]

isnt the point to get lost? :)

klondike_bar · Post by **klondike_bar** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:05 pm

make a giant art car covered in jungle camo and gill mesh, and play the doors as you attempt to sneak up on people and launch smoke bombs

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:52 am

cullen wrote:i was just gonna appropriate what i needed from my unit.

Are you going to be sending a jeep back, piece by piece?

cullen · Post by **cullen** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 8:32 am

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:40 pm

Can we get a tank decoy?
I've always wanted to put one on the playa off in the distance.

StevenGoodman · Post by **StevenGoodman** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 4:08 pm

Use real camo-netting and real "spreader poles", works great. This is from Apokiliptika 2007.

Martini Steve

DoctorIknow · Post by **DoctorIknow** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:59 am

I love army camo for BM. It gives sufficient shade, doesn't care about wind and is stable even when parts of the netting may rip.

I decided to make a support that I could make at home and set up in the least amount of time and that would not fail. Not the best looking shade out there by any means, but which side of the shade is important anyway LOL?

I use four 4x4 8' corner posts.

At the top of each, I put two eye bolts and instead of using nuts for tightening, use "eye nuts" (pic below) so that I now have four eyes (one coming from each face) on the top of the pole.

There are four 3/16 SS cables with hooks on all ends. When laid out on the playa in a perfect rectangle, where they meet will exactly mark where the 4x4's are placed. Two of the eyes on the 4x4's are for the wire, the other two eyes are for the guy ropes. When the wire is on the playa, I like to put in a thick rebar straight into the playa with about 6" exposed, and I've pre-drilled the 4x4's (6" deep of course) to slip right over the rebar. The 4x4's will actually stand upright while assembling the structure which makes it possible for one person to do the entire set-up.

From the locations where the pre-made wires touch at 90degrees on the playa, one will measure out the proper location for two guy ropes, at 45degrees to the corners, and put in deep rebar with candy cane going into playa, in essence making an "eye". I use non-stretch heavy rope for guys as wire would be dangerous and almost impossible to anchor in exactly the right position. Turnbuckles on the wire will only take up a few inches of slack....not enough, but rope can be adjusted wherever the playa stakes are placed.

My 4 wires for the canopy are much longer than the span can hold without sinking, so I use 10foot 2x2's to jack the wire up (makes the tension better than turnbuckles). If there is sag in "the middle" I use 12foot 2x2's with a plastic bowl screwed into the top to support the camo. All these 2x2 supports make the thing very tight. (loose anything being closer to failure than tight stuff.)

I use nylon ties and alligator type clamps to hold on all the camo, and use seperate pieces of camo for the roof and for the sides. Also, any type of shading can work well on the sides...even cheapy roll up blinds used in canopied porches.

A big advantage of this set up is that it is really easy to add on all kinds of shade material from all the wires and posts. I've built out considerably from the main structure to accomodate people who show up with a tent but no shade.

Mine is about 50feet x 20feet